שלוש שאלות ושלוש תשובות בתעודות העבריות ממדבר יהודה שבין המרד הגדול למרד בר כוכבא

This article deals with the corpus of epigraphic Hebrew documents from the Judaean desert composed between the first and second Jewish revolts. The linguistic classification and characterization of this body of documents are presented here in light of three cardinal aspects:
1. The uniformity of the corpus—although the corpus can be divided both chronologically (documents of the first revolt vs. documents of the second revolt) and literarily (mainly letters vs. legal documents), the linguistic features reveal that it reflects a homogeneous linguistic system, and that it should, therefore, be treated as a single group, with its alternatives and variations.
2. The typology of the corpus—the Hebrew dialect reflected in the documents accords with our knowledge of other Hebrew dialects and the chronological development of early Hebrew, but is not identical with any of the other Hebrew dialects of that time (Rabbinic Hebrew, Qumranic Hebrew, Late Biblical Hebrew, Samaritan Hebrew, Babylonian Hebrew). However, it shows great resemblance to Rabbinic Hebrew.
3. The status of Hebrew—the language of the documents represents a natural living dialect of Hebrew rather than a dead literary language or a
mix of Aramaic and Hebrew. This dialect demonstrates linguistic features that cannot be interpreted as an imitation of classical Hebrew literature or an outcome of Aramaic influence. Moreover, it shows signs of a struggle with the growing effect of Aramaic on everyday life.